Wednesday 13 April 2011
Joseph Chalhoub
Microbiology lab
Ins.: Maya Hallak
Antibiotics and Bacteria Lab Report
Introduction: Our lives have been greatly affected by the
use of antimicrobial agents used in the treatment of
infections. Agents produced by living organisms, such as
bacteria or fungi, that inhibit or kill microorganisms are
called antibiotics. The activity of antimicrobials is usually
specific, limited to bacteria, viruses, or fungi, usually
not combinations of microbes.
Purpose: Determining which antibiotic- erythromycin,
Tetracycline, or gentamicin- is most effective in inhibiting
the growth of Escherichia Coli (E. coli).
Materials:
Petri dish (already inoculated with bacterial culture)
Bunsen Burner
Ethanol
Antimicrobial discs (erythromycin, tetracycline, gentamicin)
Culture: E. coli
Method: same as manual
Observation
Tetracycline: Derived directly from a
bacterium known as Streptomyces
coelicolor. Called "broadspectrum"
antibiotics, because they can be used to
treat a wide variety of infections.
Stops the protein synthesis in bacteria
and is effective against a wide range of
Gram positive and negative bacteria,
including the Mycoplasma and the
bacteria responsible for Rocky Mountain
Spotted Fever and nongonococcal urinary
tract infections.
Erythromycin: Stops protein synthesis
in bacteria. Usually prescribed to patients
allergic to pencillin.
Produced in 1952. It is much less toxic
than Chloramphenicol and is used to
combat such diseases as whooping cough,
diptheria, and pelvic inflammation due to
syphilis.
Gentamicin: is
an aminoglycoside antibiotic, used to
treat many types of bacterial infections,
particularly those caused by Gram-
negative organisms. It is synthesized
by Micromonospora, a genus of Gram-
positive bacteria widely present in the
environment (water and soil). Gentamicin
is one of the few heat-stable antibiotics
that remain active even after autoclaving,
which makes it particularly useful in the
preparation of some microbiological
growth media. It is used during
orthopaedic surgery when high
temperatures are required for the setting
of cements
 Bacterium: Escherichia coli
Antibiotic used Inhibiti I= mm R= S= mm or Culture response
on zone range mm or more
size less
(mm)
Erythromycin 14 14-22 13 23 I (intermediate)
Tetracycline 26 15-18 14 19 S (sensitive)
Gentamicin 24 13-14 12 15 S

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POSSIBLE
DISCREPANCIES:

*NOT PLACING THE

ANTIBIOTIC DISKS DOWN
INTO THE AGAR PROPERLY,
CREATING NO ZONE OF
INHIBITION FOR THE
ANTIBIOTICS.
*INCUBATION TIME AND
TEMPERATURE.
*PROPER SPACING OF THE
DISCS.
*AGAR DEPTH
*CONCENTRATION OF
BACTERIA.